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Strategic/tactical voting.

  • 24-01-2011 11:05pm
    #1
    Mint Sauce
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,293 ✭✭✭✭


    Now go easy on me, bit of a newbie/lurker around these parts. Still not great with the 1st,2nd,3rd preferance voting, brought up with a 1st past the post system, having my first couple of vote in the UK, and still not great on Irish politics, but what I do know, things really need to change.

    I have an idea who I do want to vote for, just still working on the order, and I know who I dont want.

    Also I have been thinking about strategic voting. I belive its very more than likely that we are going to have another coalition goverment. So it could be a case of a party you want in thats going to keep an eye on the majority.

    Not sure if anyone has given this thought, how it would work, or even if it would even work. But I was thinking rather than give your first preference to the party you want to win outright, give it to the party that you would like to come in as the coalition minority party.

    For example. Say I want party A to win outright, but party B to get on on the coalition. My 1st preference goes to party B, knowing they will never get enough to win, but if they get enough votes they could have a say or an influence. My second preference or even lower goes to party A, knowing there will always be enough voting for them to give them a majority, and my lower vote should not make much of a difference.

    Only two negitives I can see so far is, and I could be totally wrong is (i) may not work if you vote with the local constituancy in mind, rather than national, and (ii) if everyone done this, the party that you only want to keep an eye on things could end up winning and be out of their depth.

    Well, what are peoples thoughts, feelings, theorys on this? Or should I just stick to giving my first to who I want in charge and the second, third and so on as either my next choices or as a possible coalition?


Comments

  • #2
    nesf
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27,644 ✭✭✭✭nesf


    Strategic/Tactical voting is more about keeping a group or person out than anything else. For example:

    Say there are 4 candidates and 2 seats. Candidate A is definite winner, the second seat is a toss up between Candidate B and C and Candidate D has no chance. In this situation if I wanted to not see Candidate B get in my best vote is for Candidate C even if my real support is for Candidate A.



    In your situation, look at the local level picture. If you want two groups to be in power and one is very strong in your area and the other is only middling then your vote should be for the middling one since it's very likely that the other will get through regardless of your vote.


    For local level polling data to get a sense of relative candidate's strengths the best place is actually betting sites like paddypower.com. They run their own polling and their odds are a fair view of the constituency, not always accurate mind you but better than relying on national polling data.


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